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ruthie_the_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
Read & Reviewed for The Bookbag: http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=The_Space_Between_by_Meg_Grehan
The Space Between tells the story of Beth, over the course of a year. We see Beth dealing with her mental illness, locked away in her own, personal 'safe' world where she feels she can maintain her happiness by remaining isolated. Mouse the dog, however, has other ideas about this! With the entrance of Mouse into her life there comes, also, Alice and slowly Alice brings both light and love to Beth's world.
I have a colleague who declared just today that basically, nobody likes poetry! I disagreed with this statement, but I must admit I wasn't entirely sure how I would feel about reading this book. Although there are many books of poetry that I enjoy, I've never read a novel written entirely in free verse before, and I did feel a little trepidation as I began. However, it gave me such an immediately intimate feeling, almost like I was snooping on Beth's personal life, that I found that I was caught up in the book straight away, and rather than being a struggle (as I admit some wordy poetry can be) this felt instead like a pleasure, with the words drifting and rising, ringing and singing, and creating pictures and feelings as I found myself completely tied up in Beth's world.
The style of the writing sits perfectly with the state of Beth's mind, and the ebb and flow of the text, the repetitions, and even the layout of the words on the page all combined to make it a beautiful reading experience. I liked Beth as a character very much, and I felt a great deal of empathy towards her, in her escape from the world into books and routine and isolation, even without knowing what had triggered it. I also really loved Mouse, the dog, who comes along one day to interrupt Beth's solitude requesting that Beth throw the ball. The pleasure that Beth and Mouse enjoy in such a simple game is lovely to read. With Mouse comes Alice, Mouse's owner, and she and Beth tentatively start to become friends, with Alice gently understanding and respecting Beth's situation intuitively.
The story portrays Beth's depression and anxiety effectively, with a range of words and expressions and feelings including three whole pages of just shut up repeated over and over which I found very emotional to read. Yet the sadness and the desperation of the book start to ease as Beth's friendship with Alice grows and it becomes a love story, showing both how Beth falls in love with Alice and also how Alice, with infinite patience, loves Beth in return. There is some sexual content, so this is for older teens, but it is sensitively written.
I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed this book. If you are one of the supposed multitude who doesn't do poetry then it's probably not for you, but as a teen I would have loved it (being a closet melodramatic poet during those years). Sensitively and beautifully written, this is highly recommended.
The Space Between tells the story of Beth, over the course of a year. We see Beth dealing with her mental illness, locked away in her own, personal 'safe' world where she feels she can maintain her happiness by remaining isolated. Mouse the dog, however, has other ideas about this! With the entrance of Mouse into her life there comes, also, Alice and slowly Alice brings both light and love to Beth's world.
I have a colleague who declared just today that basically, nobody likes poetry! I disagreed with this statement, but I must admit I wasn't entirely sure how I would feel about reading this book. Although there are many books of poetry that I enjoy, I've never read a novel written entirely in free verse before, and I did feel a little trepidation as I began. However, it gave me such an immediately intimate feeling, almost like I was snooping on Beth's personal life, that I found that I was caught up in the book straight away, and rather than being a struggle (as I admit some wordy poetry can be) this felt instead like a pleasure, with the words drifting and rising, ringing and singing, and creating pictures and feelings as I found myself completely tied up in Beth's world.
The style of the writing sits perfectly with the state of Beth's mind, and the ebb and flow of the text, the repetitions, and even the layout of the words on the page all combined to make it a beautiful reading experience. I liked Beth as a character very much, and I felt a great deal of empathy towards her, in her escape from the world into books and routine and isolation, even without knowing what had triggered it. I also really loved Mouse, the dog, who comes along one day to interrupt Beth's solitude requesting that Beth throw the ball. The pleasure that Beth and Mouse enjoy in such a simple game is lovely to read. With Mouse comes Alice, Mouse's owner, and she and Beth tentatively start to become friends, with Alice gently understanding and respecting Beth's situation intuitively.
The story portrays Beth's depression and anxiety effectively, with a range of words and expressions and feelings including three whole pages of just shut up repeated over and over which I found very emotional to read. Yet the sadness and the desperation of the book start to ease as Beth's friendship with Alice grows and it becomes a love story, showing both how Beth falls in love with Alice and also how Alice, with infinite patience, loves Beth in return. There is some sexual content, so this is for older teens, but it is sensitively written.
I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed this book. If you are one of the supposed multitude who doesn't do poetry then it's probably not for you, but as a teen I would have loved it (being a closet melodramatic poet during those years). Sensitively and beautifully written, this is highly recommended.
milooo's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this was the best book to start the new year with: it’s short and sweet but so hopeful and beautiful. the author creates a gorgeous montage of these two girls’ budding relationship, and i loved how there was hardly any dialogue until the end, which really emphasises the importance of what’s being said. I did find it a bit confusing since some chapters/individual poems are italicised, and i haven’t quite figured out what that’s supposed to represent yet. but other than that, it’s a lovely new years hug in the form of a book :)
lbcecil's review against another edition
4.0
This was really sweet! The cover makes it look like YA but its not
renbird82's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
lina_k's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This story feels so elegant, sweet and honest. It is the literary equivalent of a big hug from a close friend! Finished it in one sitting
abbeyforde's review
5.0
I honestly don’t think I can accurately put into words how this book made me feel. In a matter of hours I’ve managed to feel what I can only assume is the full range of human emotions because of of Beth and Alice and Mouse.
This book has shot straight to my list of top ten books i’ll re-read whenever I feel the same nothing that Beth felt. Can’t wait to read more from this author!
This book has shot straight to my list of top ten books i’ll re-read whenever I feel the same nothing that Beth felt. Can’t wait to read more from this author!
libraryofdoe's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Emotional, beautiful and heart wrenching. Grehan has a real knack for turning the inner voice into a poet. As someone who struggles with agoraphobia, this made me feel seen. I cried, I squealed, and I left more hopeful than I came. Having previously read The Deepest Breath (it was my favourite read of 2021) I was very excited to pick this up and it did not disappoint.
anniekslibrary's review
5.0
This sapphic verse novel about a girl with agoraphobia was gifted to me by my friend, and I read it right away and loved it so much! It was both relatable and very very Soft, and it left me all weepy
sweets_reads's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
graceann30's review
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0